290 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



well rooted. Considerable top growth before cold weather 

 is also desirable, although sufficiently early planting to 

 permit the production of stems before winter will result 

 in winter-killing. Early sown oats are not subject to the 

 ravages of the Hessian Fly as is early sown wheat. In 

 the northern section of the cotton-belt, winter oats should 

 be sown from the 15th to 30th of September. In the cen- 

 tral section, including central Texas, most of Mississippi, 

 Alabama, Georgia, and northern Louisiana, the best time 

 of seeding is during the month of October provided 

 the soil is not too dry. Along the Gulf Coast oats are 

 usually seeded in late October or the first half of Novem- 

 ber. In the cotton-belt fall-sown oats almost invariably 

 yield more than oats sown after Christmas for the following 

 reasons: (1) the plants have a longer time in which to 

 draw food from the soil and make a more vigorous growth; 

 (2) fall-seeding interferes less with other work, and con- 

 sequently a better prepared seed-bed is furnished; (3) 

 fall-sown oats mature earlier than when sown in the spring. 

 For this reason they are less affected by rust, and less 

 liable, to injury by storms; (4) for their best results oats 

 require more cool weather than is permitted by spring 

 sowing. 



A seven-year test at the Alabama Station gave an aver- 

 age yield of 26.8 bushels of oats to the acre when they 

 were sown in November as compared with an average 

 yield of 15.5 bushels when they were sown in February. 



353. Methods of seeding. There are three methods 

 of seeding oats in the cotton-belt. These are: (1) broad- 

 cast seeding either on plowed or unplowed land; (2) drill- 

 ing with the ordinary grain drill; and (3) drilling with the 

 " open-furrow " drill, or a one-horse planter. 



Many experiments in the cotton-belt have proved that 



